It is well understood that dental floss use is an important part of a total oral hygiene program. Although toothbrush use helps reduce plaque on the occlusal surfaces of the teeth, floss use reduces plaque accumulation in the interstitial surfaces of the teeth. Caries will develop on surfaces where there is an accumulation of plaque. Dental floss is an effective means to disrupt the accumulation of plaque in the interstitial regions of the teeth, thereby reducing the likelihood for the development of caries on tooth surfaces. Accordingly, flossing helps prevent periodontal diseases, such as gingivitis.
Dental floss has commonly been manufactured and distributed as a spool of thread-like material which is housed in a plastic dispensing container. The user withdraws a length of floss from the container and then severs the length from the spool. The user then wraps the floss about his or her fingers for manipulation and insertion of the floss between the teeth. Alternately, a length of floss may be mounted on a flossing instrument. An individual who employs flossing as a hygienic dental practice, commonly carries a container housing such as a spool of dental floss. A suitable plastic dental floss dispensing container which has been employed in the past is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,311 and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 339,426. Even though such a container is relatively compact, it nonetheless may present undesirable bulk in a person's pockets.
As may be appreciated from the foregoing, there is a need for a single use dental floss dispenser for dispensing a usable quantity of dental floss in such a manner that the dispenser maintains the dental floss in a sanitary condition prior to use. Such a dispenser should be dimensioned to be readily carried in a pocket, billfold or otherwise. As such, the single use dental floss dispenser would function as a personal unit to suit the oral hygiene requirements of a traveling person. Such a single use dental floss dispenser also may be effectively employed in a medical and/or dental environment. In such a use, a medical or dental patient is assured that the sanitary integrity of the floss employed by medical and/or dental personnel has not been comprised.
To date, numerous methods and devices have been employed to distribute advertising materials to consumers. Conventional mass advertising methods have included inserting printed advertising literature into books, magazines, newspapers, or the like. Also, advertising pouch assemblies have been employed to distribute advertising literature via the postal system. However, as competition for consumer spending has escalated, actual product distribution has been employed as a preferred form of advertising in many instances. In the past, product distribution for advertising purposes has been carried out by supplying to consumers complimentary product samples, such as by bulk mailing such product samples to a targeted consumer sector, for example. Also, product samples in the form of swatches, food samples, perfumes, soaps, records, and films previously have been distributed within magazines. These type of product samples have made taste, touch, smell, sound and sight a reality in magazine advertising.
There is a need for an improved single use dental floss dispenser which may also serve as an advertising premium to be treasured by a recipient thereof. Such an improved single use dental floss dispenser should not only function as a floss containment vessel, but should facilitate the dispensing of the contained floss in a fashion that does not require the destruction of the dispenser. Accordingly, even after the dental floss has been removed from the dispenser, the dispenser may still function as an advertising premium.